ROCHESTER — Mattapoisett resident and Planning Board member Mary Crain is Rochester's new town planner.

After selectmen officially signed her contract Monday night, Town Administrator Richard LaCamera said she will be paid $26 an hour and work up to 1,000 hours a year. Her first day on the job will be Feb. 3.

Reached at home, Crain said she has been a member of the Mattapoisett Planning Board since June 2012 and has worked in Massachusetts community planning departments for 14 years. She earned a master's degree in city and urban planning from Rutgers University in 1994.

Though the Rochester position will be her first as town planner, her experience includes work in the Planning Department in Everett, the Economic Planning Department in Salem and as senior planner in Watertown.

Crain said she has always been fascinated by the process of helping communities manage and plan for their future growth. "I enjoy taking an approach and examining how it affects a community," she said.

Her first goal as town planner, she said, will be taking time to learn about Rochester. "For a few months I will be educating myself about what the planning issues are and what lies ahead for the town of Rochester," she said.

Also at Monday's meeting, LaCamera urged the board to organize a Cable Advisory Committee. The town's contract with Comcast will expire this December and its Verizon contract will expire in two years.

Officials agreed that this committee should consist of about five members to review the new contract proposals from both companies.

Selectman Richard Nunes said the board welcomes applications from anyone interested in volunteering for this new committee.